Tag Archives: insanity

May 29 2015

Insanity vs mentally ill: the case of James Holmes

Apparently James Holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. This week, copies of his notebooks were released which seem to show that he carefully selected his target (the movie theater) and also seemed to be quite aware that what he was doing was wrong. This would argue against a finding of legal insanity. He knew what he was doing and knew it was wrong.

The writings also make it clear that he was (and probably is) very mentally ill. His illness seemed to torment him, from what I’ve heard on the news. This is something I’ve seen in many of my clients over the years. Very often they know something is wrong with them but they don’t know what to do about it. I find it almost heartbreaking that Holmes seems to have studied neuroscience in an attempt to figure out what was wrong with him. I can almost imagine the despair when his studies didn’t provide him with the answers he sought.

From what I’ve gathered in the news, it seems unlikely he will be found insane by the standards in Colorado. That’s not to say that this killer isn’t sick. He most definitely is. I suppose his illness will become important again when we get to sentencing.

As an example of the difference between the legal term “insanity” and the more medical term of “mentally ill” or even “schizophrenic”, this is about as perfect as you can get.

BTW: we are dealing here with a serious mental illness like schizophrenia. We are not talking about a personality disorder or psychopathy. Please, please do not confuse psychopathy with “psychotic” or insane. Personally I do think psychopaths are “sick”, but not like Holmes. Apples and oranges, folks. Apples and oranges.

JamesHolmesColoradoShootingAndyCrossColorado theater shooting suspect James Holmes

Feb 25 2015

Insanity, Schizophrenia, PTSD, and Eddie Ray Routh

Just some thoughts on the trial and verdict regarding Eddie Ray Routh. Last night (2/24/15) Routh was found guilty of murdering Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield. The defense had contended that Routh was insane at the time of the murders, but the jury clearly rejected this. I have no information regarding why the jury did so, but likely did feel that Routh “knew right from wrong” when he killed those two men. That is the standard or “test” in Texas and it does seem he knew that at least some of society would determine that what he did was wrong. Routh apparently tried to evade police in the aftermath. He ran.

It was clear (at least to me) that Routh was mentally ill. He reportedly had been diagnosed as schizophrenic by the VA. The reports of hallucinations and delusions back this up. As I will discuss in a later post(s) on PTSD, these are not, I repeat not, symptoms of PTSD. He may have suffered from PTSD as well as schizophrenia. Unfortunately, when his mother reached out to Mr. Kyle for help, she only made note of PTSD and not the schizophrenia. For a long time, the media focused on the reports of PTSD. It’s become somewhat of a fad, I’m sad to say, particularly when dealing with veterans who deployed either to Afghanistan or Iraq. It seems like Americans have become quick to label veterans of the War On Terror who have mental health problems as all suffering from PTSD and likely to become violent. It’s just not true.

Could Routh’s schizophrenia have been triggered by his deployment? Possibly, though not very likely. Could it have been a coincidence that his schizophrenia emerged during this time frame? Yes. Schizophrenia often emerges during a person’s 20s.

What’s the take-away here? I think there are a couple. First, different jurisdictions have different “tests” for calling a person “insane”. As writers, you’ll need to check the test for the state your characters are in. Second, a person can be crazy but still not be insane. This can give you a lot of tension and conflict for your story. Third, be careful when labeling your nut case. Familiarize yourself with the signs and symptoms of the various mental health diagnoses. I’ll do my best to help you with this.

Feb 8 2015

Psychology and writing: Is my character insane?

Insanity is a term used widely, and most often incorrectly. We’ve all seen the interviews with bystanders saying some criminal had to be “insane.” We may even have had one of our characters say of another, “She’s insane!” What a layperson means is that the other person’s behavior doesn’t make sense or that the other person is mentally ill. Some people may even believe it’s a term that is used in mental health circles. They’d be wrong. The term “insane” is not a mental health term, but a legal one.

I am not a lawyer and you might want to talk with one if you plan on using the term in your work. Do realize that different states (and countries) have different definitions of insanity. Essentially, the accused is claiming that because of some mental illness or defect he or she shouldn’t be held legally responsible for his or her actions. The insanity defense is rarely used in the US and even more rarely does it result in a ruling of “not guilty by reason of insanity.” Usually it’s the defense that has to show that the defendant meets the standards for such a decision by the jury. In other words, the “burden of proof” lies with the defense.

It’s not enough to show that the defendant is mentally ill. In the early 1970s, Herbert Mullin killed 13 people. He said that voices told him that he could prevent an earthquake in California if he killed. It’s not surprising that his defense initially was “not guilty by reason of insanity.” He was hearing voices; he was clearly mentally ill. But…the jury didn’t buy that defense, primarily because he’d tried to cover his tracks and showed some sign of premeditation in some of his kills. He was found guilty instead and sent to prison. He’ll be eligible for parole in 2021, when he’s 74.

Personally, I don’t think premeditation, by itself, negates an insanity defense. I do think it is possible for a mentally ill person to plan out a crime and carry it through while still meeting the standards or “tests” for a decision of insanity. This might be a good source of some conflict for your story and an interesting cross examination of a psychologist on the stand. Attempts to cover up the crime is more problematic since it suggests that the killer knows that what he or she did was wrong.

Be sure that you don’t have your psychologist or psychiatrist making the determination that your character was insane. That’s something the jury must do.

BTW: an insanity defense is not the same as competency to stand trial. This is a separate determination and looks at whether or not a defendant understands that he or she is being tried for a crime, who’s involved, and if the defendant can assist his attorney(s) in his or her defense. It relates to the time of the trial and not to the time of the crime. You can have your defendant completely psychotic at the time of the crime, but because he’s now on his meds, he’s able to understand the trial and assist his attorneys.

A good resource regarding these issues would certainly be a lawyer. You might also want to get in touch with a forensic psychologist or psychiatrist. These individuals are often called in to develop an opinion regarding both competency and insanity.

So, how do you use this information in your story? Let’s say to have a character, Sam, who goes on a killing spree. It’s Saturday morning and Sam leaves the house carrying the shotgun he’d bought a week ago and a fanny-pack full of cartridges. Let’s say you decide to write this scene from Sam’s point of view. He’s hearing voices that tell him he must kill or he will die. The voices are screaming at him. He shoots his next door neighbor who’s mowing the lawn. He walks further down the road and shoots a passing motorist. Now the voices are encouraging him to kill more, more. Perhaps the people he passes look like some sort of demon to Sam. His own thoughts are barely coherent. Eventually the police stop him and by some miracle Sam survives. Of course to Sam, he doesn’t die because he’d carried out what the voices demanded. Perhaps Sam even surrenders. Great!

You can have the neighbors saying Sam is insane. Particularly if Sam has a history of mental health problems. Maybe the neighbors get into an argument about whether or not Sam’s crazy or just an evil monster. People do this.

You follow up with the evaluations and hearings and trial. You get Sam put on meds and within a few days, the voices have backed off and Sam realizes what’s going on. So you have a shrink determine that he’s competent to stand trial. Now for the wrangle over whether or not Sam was insane at the time of the killing spree. The defense points to a prior diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia (more about diagnoses in following posts!) and evidence that he’d stopped his medications a few weeks previously. The prosecutor points out that Sam had the foresight to buy a shotgun and cartridges and even a fanny-pack to hold all the cartridges.

Feel free to contact me if you have questions or comments. I’m happy to help.

Update (2/13/15)

The current trial of Eddie Ray Routh, accused in the murder of “American Sniper” Chris Kyle, highlights some of the issues related to legal insanity versus being mentally ill. Kyle apparently texted that Routh was “straight-up nuts.” But police have recounted Routh’s fleeing from the scene and leading them on a chase, which might indicate that Routh was aware what he did was wrong (part of the determination of insanity in Texas). I must say that the CNN commentators I’ve seen are doing a fair job of presenting these issues.